Out of Left Field After Hours

Hello, this is Matt Slick from the Matt Slick Live Podcast, where I defend the Christian faith and lay out our foundations of the truth of God's Word. Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just a few seconds. Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing the Truth Podcast Network. This is the Truth Network. Coming to you from an entrenched barricade deep in the heart of central North Carolina, Masculine Journey After Hours, a time to go deeper and be more transparent on the topic covered on this week's broadcast.

So sit back and join us on this adventure. The Masculine Journey After Hours starts here now. Welcome to Masculine Journey After Hours, and we are talking about surprises from God, things that come at us out of left field, so to say. And so, Andy, can you help us understand what out of left field means? I mean, that's a baseball term, right? Yeah, I guess, but I never really knew the interpretation. Oh, I thought you knew that. Maybe Rodney was saying it earlier. I wasn't picking on you this time. I thought since you played baseball.

You want us to believe that. Since you played baseball those years, I thought you might know, but never mind. Well, I did kind of look it up because I was like, I always kind of wonder what the origin for that is. So when a ball player is headed either back to first base or to home, his back is to left field. And the only thing I found was that people could surmise what was going on.

They didn't really know. They were guessing and thinking that's where it came from was when something comes out of nowhere when you don't expect it. Like you're just, I'm just jogging back to first base, but then the left fielder fires a rocket into first base and gets you. Are you around third thinking, oh, I'm going to score and next thing you know, the ball comes whizzing by your feet as you're sliding in the home and you're out. Yeah, you knew that Andy. You knew that.

Yeah. Yeah, being the catcher. I always thought the expression should be out of right field because I played right field and I couldn't catch or throw. So throwing one out of right field was almost unheard of.

Yeah, it wasn't going to go anywhere out of right field. So for the short period of time, you were a catcher, Andy. Did you drop some of those throws from left field in order to get your your position out there?

No, I don't know what it was. I guess I just, somebody was better than I was. They probably wanted your arm.

Yeah, they wanted your arm. That was the best part of it. I couldn't block. I couldn't block low pitches. That was, that was my weakness. So yeah. So you don't, you know, and you're going to have problems with that in the infield.

So that's probably why I ended up in the outfield. So now we got to process another wound. Yeah, exactly, exactly. Surprise. Yeah, sports wounds will be next week's show, I guess.

So he ended up in left field, out of left field. I'm just saying. I don't even think we need to do a show on sports wounds. We can just do one on Andy's wounds from this show. Oh yeah, yeah. Well, do it on a week when I'm not here because you guys are going to be talking about me a lot.

I would start to feel bad about the things I do to Andy, maybe. So back to the topic. So yeah, out of left field. We're in a bunker, not a burrow. I like that. Yeah, yeah.

Anyway, so Robby, you're up with your club. So, you know, God's caught me out of left field here a lot, actually, probably in the last three months with something. You know how ogres have layers. Well, years ago I had this, and those who've heard my testimony or been to boot camp have heard me talk about getting my innocence card when I had a struggle with pornography and things associated with that. And Jesus came out of left field from my perspective to give me this innocent guard where I really didn't feel like I deserved it. And I kept on trying to give it back to him.

You don't understand. I'm not innocent. And eventually his response to me was, didn't I pay enough to give you this card? And he's kept getting me to revisit this idea of innocence as did a lot over the last three months. You know, I find myself doing something where I really disappoint myself. Like, God, I can't believe I just did that. I can't believe I just said that. And I go to God with that in confession, and I'm not expecting him to come back to me.

And he says, Robby, when are you going to understand innocence? I hit the wrong button. That's okay. Yeah. It's going to sound good when we get to that clip.

She's coming. Sorry. I'm pretty sure on the button there. So, again, I'm going to God in things that really, quite often I'm shocked at some of my behavior and how I turn from God as much as I push into God. And then I come to him and he's like, Robby, when are you going to understand innocence? And I keep going back to the word mercy, which you'll find in 119 Psalm a whole lot. And I'm studying that word.

And it has this sense of returning to the womb. This idea of, like, when you're born, you're completely innocent. Like, you've got nothing to be ashamed of. You've got no past. Nobody's going to be able to—and so when you go to him expecting some type of condemnation or some type of expression on his face, instead you get this, Robby, let's go back and revisit the word innocent. And as I was just studying that, even this morning, I was like, man, I get that. I know I have an innocence card and I get that in spite of my behavior.

And how cool is that? And I said, but that's so out of left field because it just doesn't feel like I got that coming. I feel like I have something else coming, condemnation.

But I have this coming. How could we see that in a movie clip? And he reminded me of my reaction to this particular scene in the movie Moana. Now, if you're a grandfather like me, especially if you have granddaughters, you get to see some of these Disney movies time and time and time again.

But I love this movie because it has the ocean in it. This girl has got to go across the horizon, as she'll hear her explain, to try to find Te Fiti. And Te Fiti was this goddess that essentially had created all the islands. And she'd made them lush like Eden. And unfortunately, Maui, who was played by The Rock in this movie, was a demigod who went and took her heart. And when he did, the whole earth went under this curse.

This is really, really biblical when you can see it. And under the curse, the fish are dying, the plants are dying, everything's going dark, the green is going away. And then there's this horrible monster called Te Fa, which looks like a rock and fire. But it can't cross the bay where finally Moana gets there.

This Te Fa can't go across the bay because if it gets to water, it turns to rock. And as they're fighting this, Maui and her are fighting this Te Fa, all of a sudden, and she has the heart that's been stolen, and she's got it in her hand. And all of a sudden, she's standing on the island of Te Fiti, and she holds up the heart of Te Fiti, and she looks at Te Fa, and she realizes who God really is. And so she says, you'll hear her say, let her come to me, because now she knows who God is. And if we talk about in boot camp, when you can get a good look at God, it helps you get a better look at yourself. And when you realize that God is not this person that's got condemnation and fire and is wanting to burn you up, and instead is this person that loves you unbelievably and wants to make Eden come back and wants to make everything turn green and all this other stuff and is using, actually, all the fire and stuff to make you hungry for it enough to realize who God really is, well, listen to how Moana, when she comes to an understanding, you might think she's calling this out, but actually, it's just realizing what was there the whole time.

Let her come to me. I have crossed the horizon to find you. I know your name.

They have stolen the heart from inside you. But this does not define you. This is not who you are. You know who you are. Who you truly are. So the scene there, actually, as I watched that this morning, it may not break.

Let her come to me. But here we go again. As I saw that, I had a tremendous emotional response of realizing that, of course, God knows who he is, but when you realize who he really is and what it has taken in the refining process for you to get to another layer of understanding who he is and as you do, your life becomes a little bit more green, a little bit more like Eden. You get a piece of this, and the beauty of the imagery, and Sam pointed this out as well, is it has so much to do with the heart, right?

I mean, the picture is she's returning the heart of Te Fiti, but what's actually happening is she's getting her heart back. When we get an idea of who God is, then we become who we are because he can be who he is, and I know this, I've seen it, I've talked about it a million different ways, that our sin does not stand between us and God, but knowing that in your head and knowing it in your heart are two phenomenally different things, and it just seems like it's out of left field because you think, well, I understand this at this point. God's like, Robby, not, you know, let's go here again, let's do it again.

Yeah, why do we continue to be surprised? Wayne, do you have anything that you would like to share? Do you have any stories about where God surprised you?

Yeah, I'll tell one of the first stories kind of coming out of Teen Challenge and kind of seeking God, it's hard, and wanting to know, you know, it says that all of these things come to those who seek after the kingdom of heaven, and it was a time when I was praying and just really trying to hear his voice, trying to hear what he was saying, what he was trying to tell me, and I knew that I was supposed to be seeking after the kingdom of heaven, so I was praying after this very hard, and I just could not hear him, could not get anything. Went and watched a movie, Dr. Strange, and it's at the point when the guru is dying, and they go into their astro bodies, and they're floating in free space, and yeah, everything, you know, the religious people, you can't hear from God there. So she's talking to Dr. Strange, and they're having this conversation, and they're talking this conversation, and all of a sudden, it was like God was speaking directly to me. I hate that I didn't cut the audio clip of it, but, you know, the guru, the Holy Spirit, right, her God, is telling Dr. Strange that, you know, it's basically, it's not about you. You thought you were being great because you were doing these things, and it was actually because of your lack of trust and faith that you actually aren't doing the things you're supposed to be doing, and it's not about you.

The kingdom of heaven is not about you. So it was very interesting, and it was. It was like I got slapped upside the head out of left field.

You know, I'm sitting there, same thing, crying in the middle of a movie. Everybody's looking at me like, that wasn't that big a deal. Like, what's going on here? And same thing, you know, what did you just tell me? Yeah, God loves to use media to sneak up on us, right? And we talk about it at boot camp. I think that when, especially men, when we're visually seeing something, it goes around the logic and goes right to the heart, you know? And hearing in music for a lot of people, it's the same thing, that it goes around anything logically you can think of and goes right to the heart, which allows God to do that work. Yeah, to that point, I was just sitting here thinking, we talk a lot about how the movies do that, but I was just sitting here thinking, you know, there was doctrine that Jesus talked about, but most of the time he used story. He didn't sit there and read them the book of Leviticus, you know? And I mean, he did, you know, he did go into Isaiah and talk about he came to heal. That's more of a story to me, but then those parables really went directly to the heart, so.

Yeah, and he was able to speak to people at the heart level, right? And that's what God's doing to us through these surprises or out of left field moments. This was actually a topic that God laid on my heart. We were just sitting around last week like we do and say, what are we going to talk about next week? And it just kind of popped up, and I wasn't really thinking about this movie clip when I said, hey, what do you guys think about this for a topic?

And we all said, yeah, let's do it. And then God quickly reminded me within the next few hours about this movie and about this clip. And so in this movie, it's from a movie called The Judge, and you have Robert Duvall is the father who's the judge. He has a couple sons, but one of his sons is Robert Downey Jr., who's also an attorney, right? And so the attorney is a defense attorney. The judge is very much about, you know, right and justice and doesn't really appreciate the way his son does stuff.

They've got a lot of history. They've been separated for several years not talking. As a matter of fact, the son has a daughter who comes into this clip that the judge has not met until this point in her life, which she's eight or nine, right? So there's been a long history, and the only reason that they get back together is the judge's wife, the son's mother, dies. And so he comes home for the funeral expecting to be there for the weekend and then leave. And through a series of events, he gets stuck there. The judge gets into some legal issues, surprisingly. And the son has offered to defend him, and the dad won't take him up.

It's just the dad is very independent. And so where we pick up the scene is the son's there. He doesn't really want to be there. He hears a thud upstairs. And what he just recently found out, his dad has had stage four colon cancer.

He's been getting chemotherapy. And so he hears something. He goes up, and we pick up this scene. The dad is literally laying on the floor, evacuating the contents of his stomach, throwing up into the toilet as part of the chemotherapy. He's confused, doesn't know who's grabbing him.

He's telling him, hey, don't touch me. Then quickly after that, it goes out the other end of his body, and he has just a horrible diarrhea experience. And then the son is working to get him over to the shower to give him a bath, right, to help him clean up.

And then later, the daughter knocks on the door. But we'll pick that up. But let's listen to it, and then I'll come back and talk about it. Stay right there.

No, no, no. Let's go to the top. Careful where you're stepping. Get your leg over. There you go. OK, OK, let's go. Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry.

What is it? Can I come in? I'll be out in a minute. Go eat. Finish your hush puppies, baby. I'm full.

In a minute, Lauren, come on. What are you doing? We're fixing the sink. It leaks. Can I help? No, there's water all over the floor. All right, go, go do something.

Grandpa, I don't be down in a minute. And so the story on that clip, we used to do a lot of movie nights. Sometimes family nights, sometimes my wife and I would watch a movie. And this is one that we'd picked. We liked the actors in it and thought it'd be good.

And so we're watching the movie shortly after it comes out. And the scene comes on, and all of a sudden, I'm overwhelmed with emotion. I mean, I'm physically bawling. I can't hardly keep it in. And I'm trying to keep it in so no one else around me sees what's going on and just fight my way through that scene. And knew that it was something, okay, God, I really got to go dig into this with you, because this was a very, very emotional reaction.

And so it was maybe a few days, a week or so later, I got some alone time. And so I was like, all right, God, what was that about? And he reminded me of the anger that I felt for my dad as a 12-year-old when my dad had his stroke and was never really the same. He never got to where he could talk again. He could walk. He couldn't really use his right arm.

I could say a handful of words, most of those cuss words. You know, that's what came back. But there was a lot of things as a 12-year-old I had to do. I had to give him insulin shots.

I had to do things to help take care of him, because my mom was at work. You know, and there was just this anger, not as much of taking care of my dad, as much as if, and I didn't have the words to articulate it at 12, but my dad was stolen from me, right? And I was just incredibly angry and incredibly mad at him. And so the scene just brought that all back. And so I was able to go back into it and walk through it with the father and say, God, okay, where do I go here, you know?

And go back into my 12-year-old mindset and pray through and forgive my father, honestly, and part of that, forgive myself for having those feelings, you know, that I didn't really know. And one of the things that was kind of cool, I haven't watched that movie since then, but I watched it last night in preparation for the show. And we got to the scene, I didn't know exactly where it was, but none of the emotion was there anymore. There was healing in the place where there had been a lot of hurt, right? And you can say that's not necessarily a great surprise, but in the end, it was a wonderful surprise because God helped me see my dad so much differently, helped see myself so much differently, and also know that he was there in the midst of it, right? And so it's these times, these times of surprise that come out of left field, whether it's anger like we talked about in the last show, or it's joy or tears. Those are the times to turn back into the Father and say, okay, why? Why that emotion? What are you bringing up in me?

Or what's the enemy trying to attack that you're trying to help defend? You know, and it's just great. As I sit there and I think, you know, all these times that God, this is so wonderful. I may have shared this one on the air years ago, but I remember being at my best friend Bob's father died, and I hadn't been in a funeral since my dad had died. And so I'm here trying to support my friend, and I'm having all these emotions because it's his father, my father, it's only a few years later.

Actually, it's several years later, it's about nine years later. But I remember just sitting there saying, oh, God, I need some help here. I can't make it through this.

I'm going to lose it. And all of a sudden, this whole feeling of peace came over me. Just completely. It was like water pouring over me, like a warm goo, you know, kind of like Nickelodeon, but in a good way, right? That it was coming over me, and I made it through the funeral, and I was able to be there for my buddy, right, for my friend. But that still meant I had to go back and say, okay, God, why? Why those emotions? Why was it bringing it up in me? There was nothing about his dad that was similar to my dad.

His dad was from Scotland. Mine was from out in the country in Indiana. You don't get much different, right? But it was just something there that God needed to do.

So, opening it back up to you guys, we've got a few more minutes. Any other stories God's laying on your heart? Anything you'd like to share on this topic? Well, I just, excuse me, I just think that your example that you gave was a very good example of what I liked about Robby's clip where she says, it doesn't define you. It doesn't define you. These moments out of left field, very often we have negative reactions to moments out of left field. That's typically and unfortunately what happens, and especially when you're young, you're not walking with God at those times, and don't let those define you. That's a beautiful example of getting restoration right there of, hey, I noticed something. This is unusual and strange.

It hit me out of left field, and I can turn it into a moment like you did into something that really heals and restores and walk with God in that. Or I could just say, well, that's just who I am. I'm just, what am I? I'm just saying I'm a mess. I don't, you know, I'm whatever negative thing you want to come up with. But that's where we have to stop and say, wait, that doesn't define me. What is it that God's doing inside of me and working with me? And go ask. And just from your example tonight, I'm just back to where it's like, man, I haven't been doing that.

I just really, that's something I really want to press into. Jim? Yeah, something that, when I heard it, hit me out of left field, and I shared it with a brother who is familiar to this ministry today. And he basically said something like, I'd like to be more like you. And I said that several months ago about Robby. I'd like to be more like Robby. And God said very clearly to me, no, I want you to be more like Jim.

I got a Robby. And believe me, one's enough if you know Robby. But he's, and I said it, and I meant it, you know, he to me is the person I know best that is in the Bible the most and understands the most. And I consider him a mentor, and he's accused me of the same thing now and then. But it is one thing to admire people, and even to want to emulate what they're doing. But God doesn't want you to be anybody but you. And most of us aren't really comfortable in our own skins.

No, we're really not. I think that this week, for all of us here, I'd like for us to kind of commit that when those surprises come up, and for you listening, when those surprises come up this week, whether it's anger, emotion, and all that, you may not have the opportunity right then to turn into Jesus. But take time within the next few days or as soon as you can to say, okay, Father, Holy Spirit, what was this about?

What were you getting at? And let him unpack that for you. Let him lead you to healing, to joy, to restoration, to whatever you want to do.

Let him lead you to restoration, to whatever he's after in you, right? And a great place to do that with a lot of quiet time with God is at a boot camp. And we have one coming up, fortunately, March 31 through April 3. We'd love for you to go register at masculinejourney.org. We're all going to be there. A lot of people are starting to register now. Go register this week before it's too late. This is the Truth Network.